nearly every close game this year, it has been the same story. the rockets try to force feed yao and completely crumble. they got bailed out by artest against utah, by brooks against boston, and somehow hung on by the skin of their teeth against portland the other night. the team literally panics when yao is fronted and everything crumbles. when he does manage to get it, he usually turns it over or misses, because he is completely gassed and just isn't that clutch. relax, this isn't intended to bash yao - it's to address a glaring problem the team needs to rectify to have any type of postseason success. this will be the rocket's biggest obstacle and why it's standard to have a great playmaking wing on elite teams. the cutesy motion offenses break down in the crunch time and great players have to rise up and create on their own. adelman needs to start grooming aaron brooks NOW to become comfortable late in games. he isn't nearly as good as the other guys western conference playoff teams turn to, but he's the best we have at this point. he needs to become the first option late in close games. too many possessions are wasted trying to establish yao, and by the time the players confusedly realize it won't work, it's often too late. change the game plan in the fourth.
That's another possibility, but you have to have a clear cut first option. I think Brooks off the dribble is a better option than Scola against western conferences power forwards because his penetration can make the defense collapse (see: wafer 3 against boston). regardless, they need a clear cut plan. no more standing around confused trying to force feed yao for half the quarter. i pray this doesn't happen again tonight.
von wafer gets the highest off of his jumpshot, brooks would prob get it stuffed in his face more often than not. artest is too slow and has an unreliable dribble.
A pretty valid point. I've wondered to myself - why don't teams front and play physical with Yao all game if it's so effective? Then it hit me, it's not that fronting itself is the issue, we swing the ball very well early on to reestablish Yao and seem to have fewer problems. The problem is is that his defenders go into desperation mode at the end of games and play Yao with more physicality and speed. They can't do this all game because it's something unsustainable, but it effectively limits Yao, who despite all of his major improvements in stamina over the years, is already being pushed to his limits. This is why we have always looked to tracy to close out fourth quarters. Currently, we actually do not look only to Yao, but we also go to Ron. Ron would be most effective if he could post up and Yao could play the Brad Miller role by hitting the open jumpshot, but Yao's jumpshot has faded over the years. As a result, the paint is more crowded and Ron puts up lower pct% jumpers. Aaron isn't a bad option, because of his driving ability. An Aaron/Luis pick and roll play might be a decent option - and I think we see it in spots already. My vote would go to getting any open shot for Von Wafer. I would like to run him off picks like a Rip Hamilton and then allow him to make a move once he receives the ball in good position. I don't think anyone makes me feel more comfortable with the ball in his hands then Von at the end of a game.
yes, I agree with that ,there will be always two or three defenser around Yao at the clutch, so it will make Yao lose the ball easier and add his Tos. In addition, Yao always feel tired at the fourth quarter if the game is tough, so it is also make him loss the ball easier. He is so slow at the fourth quarter that the contenders will steal his ball easier. So the rox should change their strategy sometimes. let the guy who is more quick penetrate to score or assist to his teammates. Of course, If Yao could protect the ball better and decrease his turnovers he will still bring his dorminance into full play in the pain. waiting for the game rox VS clev.
agreed... but you forgot to add the Ref's tend to put away the whistle when it comes to the post players in crunch time... what we need is a proven all star wing player who is tall athletic and can at times command a double team and is use to closing out games.... hmmmmmmmmm..... d I guess it dosent hurt to try going to Scola when Yao is fronted.. Yao can always seal his man off and wait for a pass or a rebound... and Scola wont have to worrry about Yao's man coming to double him....
It doesn't make sense to me. Yao is rendered completely useless by a fronting defense. There's only 3 possibilities I can think of: 1. energy - the Blazers used Aldridge. They rely on him for alot of their offense so they can't have him tire out doing this all game. However, why don't teams just use the lesser of their two bigs like Pryz? You could say he might not be quick enough but I disagree. 2. element of surprise - wanting to catch us off guard so we crumble. this also doesn't make sense because why even risk building up a deficit when you can just front him all game and get him out of there? 3. arrogance - this would only apply to shaq, duncan, and howard. i just don't know why you wouldn't front him for 48. this will be the biggest challenge of the post-mcgrady era, IMHO. in the past, he was so reliable to make the right decisions and hit big shots. we won't make the jump to true contender until morey can trade his contract for someone that can close out games for us. but for the present discussion, something needs to be done to atleast make us competitive this year. i don't think ron's a good option because he is feast or famine. he won't be passing it and will likely force something bad. you need a guy that can score himself or set others up. I think von would be a terrible option.
I like Brooks and "Wafer" off the dribble too... I noticed with these two the times they miss the layups/dunks... its usually the other teams big either forcing the miss or blocking the shot... chances are Yao will be covered by one of these bigs, and being fronted... they effectively leave the paint open... our wing players should just drive the ball in... because they will have a better chance of getting a better pass, shot or getting to the line....
wafer's handles aren't good enough for him to have the ball in crunch time and it's a moot point really because he likely won't even be in the game, in deference to battier and artest.
good thread cabbage...great points raised.. I completely agree with your points.. Yao gets tired pretty easily.. and he is very predictable.. not blaming him for that anyway.. but I don't think Aaron will be a great closer.. that demands a lot of experience and don't think 28 games would be enough .. not that Tracy was a great closer. but he had this playmaking ability that benefited us largely.. This is going to be a huge issue during the playoffs.. and I can't think of anyone who can step up big... maybe Scola? he seems to be a good bet.. along with Yao..
I see it as the opposite. That Adelman needs to look to Brooks then point to his all star center and say "There's the All Star" Brooks has become extremely selfish with his play, as evident by three things. 1. His lack of Assists 2. His inability to get Yao the ball, or unwillingness 3. His penetration almost never leads to setting up a teammate. Not to mention that, why is we all complained about the Francis/Marbury types that pound the ball. I saw AB get the ball and if there was 10 sec or less, he was going to keep the ball no matter what. The fronting D is an issue, that the PG and good team passing will always overcome. The problem is right now, we don't have the PG who can accomplish this. So if we decide we are going to get Yao the ball in the 4th, with a fronting D, we need to create space for Yao, by clearing the lane, and sending cutters down the opposite baseline, and using some rub off screens. I don't know why this hasn't been tried more often.
Unfortunately, we don't have any goto guy that's reliable at this point. AB did try a couple of times in portland game and missed. You can't rely on a single player on this team. None of them are that good. I agree that you can't dump it to Yao every time in the fourth. But right now, we don't have any goto guy or goto move. Maybe try more of Scola setting pick for Arron w/ Yao under basket for put backs? I don't know...
if YAO no longer touch the ball in 4th Qtr or maybe clutch time, there is no reason for those teams to double him or front him any more. Even when YAO was fronted he could still get the position in some time, so the fxck ball should be passed at the right time 'cuz YAO could not hang on there for another three seconds. And that's why I dont think AB is that qualified as a good PG. AB might did well in first three Qtrs, but when it came to the final time he didnt play smart. Of course we should go to YAO, but not JUST go to YAO.
You're right that Brooks has his flaws and is far from the ideal option. But I don't see any viable alternatives. Even if you do manage to get the ball to Yao, he historically has not produced late in close games and is extremely turnover prone. As a stopgap, in this transitional 1-2 year period atleast until Morey can make a big trade, I don't see a better option than to just groom Brooks for the playoffs.
I've noticed that the team has not gone to the reposting much with Yao. I'm not sure if its because last game is still in my head, but before they fronted Yao he was reposting but not getting the pass back. Was that just last game or has it been happening lately? I went to the Dallas game and I dont remember much of it during that game either. Then again, we're winning so I'm not going to complain.
Agreed. This has been the cause if countless losses. I've thought this for a while and I'm glad so many others see it to. Why can't the coach respond in a way that doesn't see our leads dwindle away.
